Looking for Logan
by Gardener
Summary: After Aaron is arrested, Duncan and Veronica try to find Logan. AU
1. Chapter 1

"What? Was I supposed to sign in blood or something?"

"You know what you just signed away?"

"There's nothing that I want from them."

"Nothing? Even if you knew for certain that Jake Kane was your biological father?" asked Keith, showing Veronica the paper that had arrived from Unified Genetics showing that he was not Veronica's biological father.

"I don't care about that Dad," answered Veronica, throwing her arms around Keith. "You're my father in every way that counts."

"Hey," answered Keith, hugging her back, "you think that charm of yours is genetic? That's learned behavior baby!"

**

* * *

**

"Be careful, okay?"

"Duncan, what happened, at Shelly's I mean, it wasn't your fault."

"What do you mean?"

"Just trust me, none of it was your fault." With that, Veronica turned to leave to bring the incriminating tapes to her father.

Veronica answered her cellular phone: "Hey."

"I can't find him," said Duncan.

"Did you ask around?"

"I've been asking everyone, but no one knows where he is."

"Thanks, well, call me if you find him."

"Let me know when you get home, okay?"

"Okay. Bye." Veronica hung up.

"'Call me if you find him'? Are you kidding? I'm not standing idly by this time." Duncan said to himself.

He ran out of the house, hopped into his SUV, and followed after Veronica.

**

* * *

**

When, only a few minutes later, Duncan saw Veronica's convertible crashed into a telephone pole, he went pale. Stopping his Mercedes, he leapt out and ran around to the open door of the black LeBaron. He only let out his breath when he saw that it was empty. On the floor of the front of the car, he saw Veronica's stun-gun; he grabbed it before running up the driveway that sloped off to the side of the road.

**

* * *

**

"You know, Lilly never told me where the tapes were hidden either. I, I kind of think there's a cautionary tale in that, Veronica. Something like: I'm not going to let a seventeen-year-old piece of ass ruin my life!" Ranting and kicking the fridge, Aaron never heard Duncan creeping up behind him.

Aaron was slumped over the fridge, still shaking from the electrical shock when Duncan hit him again with the stun gun.

"Veronica! Hang on, I just need to find something to tie him up with!"

"Duncan?"

Duncan glanced around, looking for a rope, when he spied an extension cord coiled up amidst the piles of junk lying around on the porch. He shocked Aaron again before jumping over to grab it. Aaron was still convulsing when Duncan grabbed him. In only a minute or two, Duncan had him effectively hogtied.

"Duncan, what's going on?" Veronica shouted from within the fridge.

"Hang on. I'll get you out." He ran over to the side of the fridge and hoisted it open. Veronica leapt to her feet and, crying, embraced him.

They held each other for several moments, until Veronica realized the effect it was having on Duncan. As they awkwardly pulled away from each other, they noticed that Aaron was starting to come around.

"Hang on," he said, as he took out his cell phone. "We need to call the police."

"Get an ambulance too. Watch him. I'm going to go check how badly the guy who lives here is hurt. And be careful, he could still be dangerous."  
**

* * *

**

When Jake Kane arrived on the scene some minutes later, he saw Aaron Echolls being herded into the back of a Sheriff's Department cruiser while a deputy read him his rights.

"You killed my daughter. You killed my daughter! You're going to pay for it! I'll watch you fry Aaron! I'll destroy your family, and everyone you ever loved! You killed my daughter! You killed my daughter! I'll watch you fry Aaron!"

"You are under arrest for obstruction of justice. You have the right to remain silent."

"My daughter! My daughter! My daughter! My daughter!" Jake finally trailed off as two of Lamb's deputies led him away.

Watching the scene as the two of them sat in the back of an ambulance, Veronica, leaning against Duncan as a paramedic examined her injuries, turned to her half-brother and asked, "Do you really think he'll try to hurt Logan?"

"Honestly, I don't know," he answered, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and drawing her more tightly against him. "I've never seen him this angry before. You're worried about him, aren't you?"

"Aren't you?"

"Of course I am, but you know what I mean."

"I think I do," she whispered into his shoulder.

"Do you love him?"

"I think I do."

She felt Duncan tense up as he looked away and wiped at his eyes.

"Duncan, I'm sorry, but you know we can never—"

"I know. I just wish….I want you to be happy. You deserve it more than anyone."

"Thank you. You do to, you know."

"Come on, let's go talk to, to Dad—" Veronica tensed up. "My dad, just make sure he's going to be okay before they take him away, and then we'll go look for Logan."

"Thank you."

"Hey," he said with a smile as he extended a hand to help her up, "he's still my best friend."

"I know."

"And anyway, I want to get to him before he hears about this from the news or something. He should hear about this from us."

"Duncan, you know we both wanted you to hear about…us…from us," Veronica told him. "We didn't mean for you to find out like that."

"I'll be sure to let Aaron know that I'm very upset with him."

"Well, I intend to speak rather sharply to him too."

"Seriously, though, I shouldn't have just stalked out of there like that. I just couldn't face you. I felt so guilty."

"Guilty about what?"

"Standing idly by. Like I should have had the guts to do what Logan did."

By this time, they had reached the Sheriff's car where their father was being held. "Dad," Duncan began, "Are you okay?"

"Duncan? He killed Lilly. He killed her." He looked at his two surviving children holding hands. "Veronica."

"Mr. Kane," she answered, her voice cold.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"Yes, but I'll be alright. Duncan saved me."

"Thank God."

"Dad," Duncan cut in, "we're going to go look for Logan. We just wanted to make sure you're going to be okay before we left."

"Logan? That bastard's son?" Veronica grimaced. "Why are you going looking for him?"

"We want to make sure he's okay."

"Why would you want to do that?"

Duncan, nonplussed, answered, "You can't seriously have meant what you said about destroying Aaron's children."

"What? Of course I meant it. Duncan, he killed Lilly, he nearly killed Veronica. How can you be so calm about this?"

"Maybe because he doesn't have a bad conscience about having helped Aaron get away with it," Veronica interjected. "Or maybe because he didn't tear a good man down for trying to get at the truth."

"Veronica, I, I'm sorry, but I thought…."

"Destroying Logan won't make up for what you've done. And if you do try to hurt him, I'll…." Veronica turned away with her jaw clenched.

"Veronica, please—"

"No, Dad. She's right. If you try to hurt Logan, or even Trina for that matter, I'll find a way to make you pay for it."

"Duncan—"

"Now we're going to go look for him. I'll make sure to call Mom on the way and have her call you a lawyer. Are you going to be okay?"

"I, I guess. Wait, tell your mother not to call Barry. He's Aaron's lawyer too, and anyway, he's not a criminal attorney. Have her get Phil Koenigsberg."

"Fine. Is there anything else you need before we go?"

"Just, I'm sorry, both of you."

"Alright. We'll talk soon, okay?"

Jake watched as his children walked away toward Duncan's car.

To be continued….


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This site won't let me make an accent grave; it can apparently only handle an accent aigu. Sorry.

* * *

Just as Veronica and Duncan were heading toward his SUV, Keith pulled up in his car and leapt out.

"Dad!" shouted Veronica as she ran over to him. Keith hugged her tightly. Backup, following his master out of the car, joined them, leaping up to try to get his mistress' attention.

"Are you alright honey?" Keith asked.

"Just a little bruised, but I'll be okay. It could have been a lot worse though. Aaron locked me in a fridge and threatened to set it on fire, but—"

"What? Oh my God. Are you alright?" Keith's face, indeed, his entire head, had gone a deep purple. "Where is he?"

"He's over there, in the back of that cruiser. They've already arrested him."

"What happened? How did you get away from him?"

"Duncan saved me. He followed me from his house after he realized Aaron wasn't there, and he got there just in time and stopped him." At this point, Duncan stepped forward about half a step. Keith relaxed his grip on Veronica slightly and turned toward him.

"Duncan, I don't know what to say, but thank you. If something had happened to her, I don't…." Keith trailed off, unable to complete the thought. He was fighting back tears.

"You, you don't have to thank me. I don't know what I would have done either."

"Thank you, Duncan." Keith paused for a moment before looking around to survey the scene. "So, I don't suppose you could bring me up to speed on everything else that's happened."

"Well, if you'll let me breathe in for a minute, I'll explain everything." Keith released her, and she continued.

* * *

"Well, I think you should go looking for Logan. He probably should hear about this from you. Do you want me to come with you?"

"Actually, Dad, there's something else I need to tell you," Veronica said quietly as she led her father a few steps away from the flashing lights.

"What is it honey?"

"It's about Mom. She's not through drinking. Her water bottles? Filled with vodka, and I called the Hazelwood facility, and she didn't finish rehab, she just checked herself out, and that was my college money…." Veronica was crying as she finished telling Keith of his wife's latest betrayal.

"Shh, honey, don't worry about it. I'll go home and talk to your mother. You should go find Logan, make sure he's okay. Why don't you take my cell-tracker, okay? And why don't you take Backup with you too?" Keith brushed away Veronica's tears with his sleeve.

"Thanks, Dad." She turned to rejoin Duncan. "Dad?"

"Sweetie?"

"I want you to be happy. You should be with someone who makes you happy."

"Thanks honey. But as long as I'm with the person I love most in all the world, I'll be happy. I'll see you at home."

* * *

"So, you can track anyone's cell-phone with that?" Duncan asked as they drove toward Logan's house.

"Within a certain range, if I know the number."

"So are you getting a signal yet?"

"Not yet. Do you think we should try calling him again?"

"We just tried a couple of minutes ago. We'll be at his house soon."

"You're right."

"Veronica, tell me something."

"_Romeo and Juliet_ is highly overrated. _Antony and Cleopatra_ is a much better love story."

"Tell me something specific."

"Sure. What would you like to know?"

"When did you and Logan start, you know?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, obviously the two of you kept it a secret, but I kind of knew something was going on when I saw you two in the hall together before the dance, and I was just wondering, well, I don't know, I mean, did it start before his mom, you know?"

"No, not 'til later, much later. I mean, nothing was going on even when you saw us in the hall that day. I was just helping him look for his mother. He thought—"

"That she was still alive. I know. But wait, if nothing was going on, what were the two of you doing at a hotel in L.A.?"

"What? Duncan, you didn't think we were—"

"Well, no, not that, but I figured it was something, especially since you clearly knew what was going on with him when no one else did, not even me."

"So you thought it was a rendez-vous secréte?"

"Well, kind of, yeah."

"Sorry to disappoint you. It's funny though, Trina thought the same thing."

"Wait, Trina? Trina knew?"

"No she didn't know. I just told you, there was nothing to know. We were at the hotel because one of Logan's mom's credit cards was used there, but it just turned out to be Trina. When she saw us there, she figured we were there as a couple or something."

"But you weren't?"

"No. And anyway, you know I was with Leo at the dance."

"No, I know, but I didn't think that was very serious, to be honest. And then when Logan showed up—"

"Sans pantalons?"

Duncan giggled. "Yeah, and then you were the one who led him away. It sure looked like something was going on between you two."

"Well, again, sorry to disappoint you, but it didn't start until later."

"When?"

"Right before you left, actually. I was looking into the whole bomb-threat story. I followed this new student Ben, who—"

"Wait, Ben? Was that the guy who turned out to be an undercover ATF agent?"

"Exactly, but I didn't know that yet. I was following him when Logan called to tell me that he had told you—"

"About the files you had on your computer."

"And then while I was talking to Logan, Ben all of sudden got into my car and showed me his gun."

"You know, you really ought to get better about locking your car up."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I dropped my phone and Ben ordered me to drive to the Camelot motel. Logan was still on the line and overheard. He beat us to the Camelot and jumped Ben."

"He saved you."

"Yeah. Anyway, after that, I, I kissed him. I mean, it was just a peck, but then he kissed me back."

"And it was not just a peck."

"No."

"Well, I can definitely see how that would be romantic. I mean, showing up in the nick of time to save you and everything."

"Duncan…."

"I mean, not if the guy's your brother, obviously," Duncan answered with an easy laugh. "Anyway, I think you're wrong."

"Oh?"

"The two of you may not have noticed it, but there was definitely something between you before then."

"Maybe you're right. It's difficult to—oh no."

"What? What's the matter?"

"I just got a signal, but it's not coming from his house, or from anywhere else in town."

"Where is it—"

"The Coronado Bridge."

The tires squealed as Duncan turned the car around and hit the accelerator. In the backseat, Backup perked up his ears and growled.

"You don't think…."

"We didn't part on such good terms."

"What happened?"

"After I found out that he'd lied about his alibi, I told Lamb. That idiot told Logan that I was the one who had told him. Logan…didn't take it well. Oh God, why couldn't I have trusted him?"

"Veronica, it's not your fault. He shouldn't have lied. Aaron nearly got away with it because practically everyone helped him cover it up."

"Do you think he's already—"

"No, he wouldn't."

"How do you know?"

"Because he knows he's innocent."

"But then why is he there at all?"

"I don't know."

To be continued….


	3. Chapter 3

"Where is he? According to this, he should be right in front of us." They had made it to San Diego in record time, and were now driving across the curving bridge to Coronado Island.

In response, Duncan slowed his Mercedes to a crawl and turned on the brights. "I don't see anything," he said, peering out through the windshield.

Veronica, seeing the headlights momentarily glint off some object lying by the side of the road at the base of the guardrail, shouted for Duncan to stop.

"What is it?"

"I think I saw something," she answered, opening the door and running out. Putting on the SUV's emergency lights, Duncan followed his sister out onto the bridge. "Look," Veronica said, bending down to pick up two objects that had been left lying in the roadway: a silver flask and a cell-phone, both Logan's.

"Oh no, you don't think he left a note on his cell or something the way his mom left a note on her Blackberry?" Duncan asked.

"Weren't you so sure he wouldn't do it?"

"Just answer me."

"There's no note, as far as I can tell. And anyway, I doubt he walked here, so he must have driven off again, since that yellow monstrosity of his isn't here. What I can't figure out is why he would have left his—"

"Veronica, are you alright?" Duncan interrupted, pointing at the sleeve of her white waitress' blouse. Looking down, Veronica saw a red stain on the cuff of her right sleeve.

"It's not mine," she answered, crouching down again to touch her fingers to the asphalt where she had picked up the flask and the phone. "Duncan," she said, looking up at her brother, "there's blood on the asphalt."

"Do you think it's Logan's?"

"Seems likely. It's a good sign if it is."

"It's a good sign?"

"Well, he probably didn't jump, start bleeding from the fall, climb back up here, bleed for a little from his injuries, and then jump again."

"That does sound unlikely. But what did happen then?"

"Alright, we need to think," said Veronica, taking a step backward and putting her hand to her forehead. "Theories of the crime."

"Do we know there was a crime?"

"It's an expression. We just need to reconstruct what happened. Come on."

"Alright, let's start from the beginning: why did he come here? He's thinking about jumping, or…maybe just threatening to jump, to get attention or sympathy."

"The problem with that," replied Veronica, "is that it assumes an audience. There's no audience."

"Alright, so he was thinking about jumping for real then."

"Maybe not. Maybe…you remember how you said when you went out to the pool where Lilly died, you felt like she was still with you?"

"You think he came out here to be with his mother. It makes a kind of sense, I mean, he feels abandoned by his girlfriend, so maybe—"

"And I was the one who…comforted him when he finally realized she was gone."

"Comforted him?"

"At the hotel. He cried in my arms."

"Oh." Duncan paused for a moment, looking thoughtfully at his sister. "Alright, so he's here to be with his mother. He's drinking," he continued, gesturing at the flask still in Veronica's hand.

"I called him, right before I got in my car to leave your place, but I got his voicemail."

"Alright, so he checks the caller ID, he sees the call is from you, but he's—"

"Hurt and angry, so he throws the phone down in disgust, but then—"

"He gets angry at himself, and throws the flask down too."

"And then he just drives off?"

"It could have happened like that."

"Except how did the blood get here? And even if that is what happened, it doesn't tell us where he went."

"True. Okay, so let's try a different theory."

Veronica did not answer for almost half a minute before she said, "alright, let's consider the possibility that he was thinking about jumping."

"Okay, so he gets here, and he climbs up on the guardrail—"

"Only he's been drinking, and his balance isn't so great—"

"And he falls backward onto the asphalt—"

"Maybe he hits himself against the open door of his X-Terra."

"He's lying on the ground bleeding—"

"So he gets out his cell and calls an ambulance."

"While he's waiting, he passes out—"

"And drops the phone and the flask."

"The ambulance gets here and takes him too the hospital."

"Only," wondered Veronica, "what happened to the X-Terra?"

"Maybe the San Diego police came too and had it moved or something, so it wouldn't block the lane."

"Alright, so if an ambulance came, what hospital would they have taken him too?"

"Could we call information or something, find out where the nearest hospitals are?"

"Yes, but, wait, if he called an ambulance, that would be listed as his cell's last outgoing call, right?"

"Well, what does it say?"

"His last outgoing call was this afternoon, to me. Oh, Duncan, he needed my help."

"You did help him. You went looking for his note, and you proved he didn't do it. Now we just need to find him so you can tell him." Duncan patted his sister on the shoulder. He thought about giving her a hug, but reconsidered.

"Alright," answered Veronica through a sniffle, "if he didn't call 911, maybe a passing motorist did."

"Could be, but…."

"What?"

"This whole theory just doesn't add up to me. If the police were here—"

"There's no way they'd have left his flask just sitting here, or his cell-phone, probably."

"Exactly."

"Hmm, I'll make a detective out of you yet."

"We make a good team." The two of them stood in silence for a moment after that. "Okay," began Duncan again, "so what else might have happened?"

"Maybe we're overlooking the obvious."

"Like what?"

"There's blood. Maybe someone attacked him."

"Who? Carjackers?"

"No, because then he'd have called the police—"

"And we'd have the same problem with the flask. And the criminals would have taken the phone, right?"

"So if someone did attack him, it wasn't a random crime, it was personal."

"Someone he wouldn't just call the cops on."

"Weevil. How could I have been so stupid?"

"Weevil?"

"He overheard me telling my dad that Logan had lied about his alibi. He was pissed, he said 'these rich boys think they can get away with anything.'"

"You think he went after Logan?"

"He was in love with Lilly."

"I still can't believe all the secrets she kept from us….Alright, so Weevil shows up, he has his gang with him."

"They come upon Logan here, they beat him up."

"Did they take him somewhere?"

"They couldn't have."

"How do you know?"

"They're all on bikes, right?" answered Veronica. "So they'd have to leave Logan's car here, or leave one of the bikes here."

"So they beat him, and then leave?"

"Or they beat him, throw him over the side, and then leave."

"No, because then they'd have gotten rid of the phone and the flask too. Too much evidence. And they'd still have the problem of having to leave the X-Terra here, unless you think there were enough of them to throw an SUV over the side."

"There's one easy way to find out." Veronica took out her own cell. "Come on, come on….Weevil?" Even standing a few feet away, Duncan could hear the celebratory music coming from Veronica's phone. "What happened tonight? Were you on the Coronado Bridge? Did you see Logan? He didn't do it! That is right. Now what did you do to him? Do you swear? If I find out….We'll talk again."

"What happened?"

"They were here. They found Logan and beat him up, but Weevil swears Logan was alive and conscious, or semi-conscious, at least, when they left."

"Alright, so he's injured, or maybe he drops his flask and phone during the fight—"

"During the beating. There was no fight."

"Alright, so maybe he drops the flask and the phone, or maybe just the flask, and we were right before that he threw away the phone when he saw the last call was from you."

Veronica turned away, clenching her eyes shut, before turning back and motioning for him to continue. "Alright, so he picks himself up after they leave, and he drives off."

"Sounds good. There's just one problem: we still don't know where he went."

To be continued….


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm pretty sure that the model number on Logan's boat at the end of M.A.D. was 410, but I couldn't get a completely clear look, so I could have the dimensions wrong. Also, there's an extremely funny joke in the name of the Kanes' boat, only by funny, I mean obscure. It's so obscure, in fact, that I barely get it, and I wrote it. Thus, anyone who can explain it will win my undying admiration. That, and, what is it these days, $3.50, will get you a cup of coffee.

* * *

"Come on," Duncan said, heading back toward his SUV. "We know he didn't stay here, and he didn't ram through the divider, so he would have had to drive the rest of the way to Coronado before he could have turned back to San Diego." The two of them got back in the Mercedes and proceeded onward along the bridge. 

"Do you think he might have headed home?" Veronica asked her brother.

"It's possible. We could try calling him there, but my guess would be that Trina's probably heard by now—"

"And wouldn't be too thrilled to talk to us—"

"If we could even get through."

"I doubt it matters," mused Veronica. "I don't think he'd just go home anyway."

"So where do you think—"

Duncan was interrupted by the ringing of Logan's cell-phone.

"Do you think that could be him?" Veronica asked, checking the caller ID. "I don't recognize the number, but—"

"You've reached Logan, and here's today's inspirational message: 'adversity is the diamond dust with which heaven polishes its jewels.'"

"Mr. Echolls," came a man's voice, "Danny Leemer, C! Celebrity News, do you have any comment on—"

Veronica switched off the phone. "Vultures. They'll be calling non-stop now that they've heard."

Just then Duncan's phone rang. "Wonderful."

"Hi, you've reached Duncan Kane. When you hear that beep, you'll know what to do."

"Mr. Kane, Sally Kirkland, ENN, do you have any comment—"

Duncan stopped the car and switched his cell phone off, while Veronica switched hers off as well.

"This can't be good."

"We need to find him fast."

"Okay, to find Logan, we need to think like Logan."

"You've got the flask, but I need to drive." By this point they had gotten to Coronado Island. Duncan made a U-turn and headed back toward San Diego.

Veronica took a swig from the flask, making a face as she swallowed. "I can't believe he drinks this stuff."

"Veronica, I was kidding."

"It was worth a shot."

"So did you have any inspiration?"

"'Fraid not. All right, seriously, we need to think. We're Logan. We're hurt because we feel betrayed because our girlfriend accused us of killing Lilly—"

"And sent her winged monkeys to beat us up." Veronica shot her brother a dirty look. "What? You know he probably saw it that way."

"I know," she answered.

"Anyway," Duncan continued, "we can worry about recriminations later. Where would he have gone if he's feeling lost and abandoned by you—"

"The marina!"

"Huh?"

"The Albacore Club. That's where he'd go."

Duncan hit the accelerator. "Why the marina?" he asked.

"For our first date, Logan asked me to go boating with him, but I sort of…stood him up."

"Oh." Duncan paused for a moment. "Well, I guess that was understandable, I mean, you had just started seeing each other, I can see why you'd get nervous about spending the whole day alone with him in the middle of nowhere."

"I stood him up because I found out he had brought GHB to Shelly Pomroy's party last year."

Duncan slammed on the brakes. "He did what? Veronica, is that why you didn't remember what had happened? Did he drug you? So he could do shots off—"

"No, Duncan calm down. He didn't drug me," Veronica paused. "I was drugged, but not by Logan."

"Who then?" Duncan had started forward again.

"It's a little complicated. Dick was going to drug Madison, but she was on Atkins and didn't want the regular soda he gave her, so she spit in it and passed it to me as a prank."

"Some prank. I'm going to kill Dick."

"Duncan, please just let it go."

"Let it go? How can you be so calm about this?"

"Please just trust me."

"I'll let it go for now, but this isn't over."

* * *

The marina was dark when they arrived, but Duncan took his membership card from his wallet and slid it into the card reader at the entrance, which opened the gate, admitting them to the mostly empty parking lot.

"Look," exclaimed Veronica, pointing, "there's his X-Terra."

"Believe me, I see it. Good thinking." Duncan parked, and the two of them ran over to the yellow Nissan, which Logan had managed to park in four spaces at once. "It doesn't look like he's inside though."

"Let's try his boat." The two of them ran for slip five.

"His boat's missing. Where would he have taken it?"

"He'll be heading for Catalina Island. That's where we were planning to go."

"Come on, we'll take our boat. It's moored just a few docks down."

Veronica and Duncan dashed down the docks as fast as safety allowed. As they hurried past it, Veronica could not help but notice the Sabre 386 in the slip next to the Kanes' boat. At thirty-eight feet and seven inches from bow to stern, the Vandegraffs' sailing yacht was not quite as large as the Echolls' Sea Ray Sundancer 410, which, at forty-five-and-a-half feet, was one of the largest ships in the marina.

Both, however, could have fit comfortably inside the Kanes' Sunseeker 140. At one-hundred-and-thirty-five feet long, with four decks, the ship dwarfed every other vessel in sight.

With her injured hands, Veronica was not much help in getting the ship unmoored, but Duncan managed to have it untied in record time, and they were soon underway. Standing to the side with her hands folded under her chin, Veronica smiled as she watched her brother steer the ship out into open water.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked.

"I'm just remembering the last time I was here."

The last time Veronica had been aboard the _Vulpecula_, almost two years ago, had been for the massive end-of-summer party that Lilly had thrown before the start of their sophomore year. All of '09erdom had been in attendance.

"I remember. Oh, do you remember how John Enbom threw up over the side?"

"Yeah, but I mostly remember the two of us dancing."

"We must have been up on the skydeck for hours."

"And, of course, Caz and Sabrina got into a huge fight, and we had to go down to calm them down."

"Oh, and do you remember how Dick and Madison were leaning over the side on the main deck, and Dick was trying to sweet-talk her, and all of sudden, Casey starts taking a leak off the upper deck, right onto Dick's head?" The two of them were laughing raucously by this point.

"And then, and then, when we finally did come back up to the skydeck," Veronica recalled between gales of laughter, "we found Logan and Lilly making out in the hot tub. You were so mortified."

"Hey, I didn't want to watch my sist—" As they realized what Duncan had just said, both their faces fell.

"The two of them had just gotten back together," Veronica said quietly. "I guess that must have been right after she ended things with Weevil."

"I still can't believe how much and how fast things fell apart."

"The center could not hold. The worst were full of passionate intensity."

"Veronica," he answered, looking her in the eye, "one of the best was too."

They were silent for a time after that, until Duncan looked up again and said "I've got something on the radar. I'm not sure, but it looks like it could be the right size to be Logan's boat."

"Is it moving?"

"No, why?"

"Assuming he's on board, which we are assuming, if he's looking at his own radar, he must know we're coming, and he must know it's us, because, let's face it, we're driving this whale. If he's not moving, it means he's not trying to get away from us."

"That's a lot of ifs. He could just not be looking at the radar, or…."

To be continued….


	5. Chapter 5

Of the three of them, Backup was the first to detect something out there in the murk. He leapt up and, his snout extended out into the darkness, began barking.

"Do you think he smells something?" Duncan asked.

"The breeze is blowing toward us from out on the ocean, so it's certainly possible." Bending down to rub behind Backup's ears, Veronica asked him "what is it boy? Do you smell Logan?"

The dog's only answer was to keep barking out into the night, until, out of the blackness, a white silhouette in the shape of a Sundancer 410 took form.

"I think that's him," Duncan proclaimed.

"Why doesn't he have any lights on?" asked his sister, gazing out at the darkened vessel.

"We'll know soon enough."

As they approached, the lights of the _Vulpecula_ illuminated Logan's smaller craft. Logan was standing at the prow of the yacht, balanced precariously over the water. His face, along with the front of his shirt, was covered in blood that still flowed from his nose and mouth. Bruises were purpling around his eyes and all along his cheeks. In his arms, he held a large picnic cooler, which, by the looks of how he strained to lift it, was filled with something heavy, something that would sink quickly beneath the waves. He had tied himself to the handle of the cooler with a length of rope.

"Logan!" Veronica cried.

"Don't do it!" Duncan yelled as he pulled alongside Logan's boat, albeit about twenty feet off his starboard.

"Duncan, Veronica, fancy meeting you two out on the water this time of night," Logan shouted back with a smile.

"Please put the cooler down," Veronica cried.

"I will in a minute, don't worry," he answered good-naturedly.

"You know what she meant, man."

"Duncan, Veronica, seriously, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it."

"What are you talking about?" Veronica asked.

"What can I say? She just made me so jealous, and then when I came back to Neptune that day, and I went to confront her, she just laughed at me."

"Logan, stop it!" Veronica cried.

"I didn't even mean to do it, I just wanted her to love me. But when I saw what I did, I got Dick and Beaver to lie and say I was in TJ with them all day."

"Logan, why are you doing this?" Duncan yelled.

"I just want to come clean after all this time. Look, I'm glad the two of you are back together. That's the way it's supposed to be, right?"

"Logan, Duncan and I are not back together! We'll never get back together!"

"That's too bad. Nothing's been like the way it's supposed to be for a long time. She was supposed to love me, you know."

"Logan, stop it! We know you didn't do it!" Veronica replied.

"You're just saying that so I won't do this," he answered, hefting the cooler in his arms.

"Logan, we caught the real killer."

"Yeah, who?"

"We'll tell you, but first, step away from the edge and put the cooler down."

"That's what I thought."

"Logan, I went looking for your letter!" Veronica cried.

He turned to face her then, his mouth curling open in a look of wonder. He saw her face for the first time. "What happened to you?"

"I told you, we found the real killer."

"Did he do that to you?"

"Yes, but—Logan, please don't do it."

He laid the cooler down, well away from the edge, but did not untie himself from it. "Why did you go looking for it? The letter, I mean."

"I, I had to know if, if—if I could have been so wrong."

"Wrong about what?"

"About you, about us!"

"Veronica, I'm sorry!" he was frantically untying himself from the cooler now, practically tripping over the rope as he rushed over to the edge, as if he could jump across the twenty feet of open ocean into her arms. "I'm sorry I lied, I'm sorry for, well, for just about everything up until now, but I love you!"

"Logan!" she was blubbering openly now. "I love you too. Please, just come back to the marina with us, it's going to be okay."

* * *

The three of them sat at the edge of one of the docks at the Albacore Club. They had taken their shoes and socks off and rolled their pant-legs up, and were now dangling their feet into the water. Veronica sat between Logan and her brother. Backup was stretched out across their laps, a contented rumbling sounding from somewhere in his chest as the three of them absentmindedly petted him. 

"So, do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Sure. Uh, Veronica, why don't you start?"

"Okay," she began quietly. "After you left me on the beach, I was trying to think of where Lilly might have put the letter you left her, and it occurred to me she might have put it in the air-conditioning vent in her room."

"Of course, that's where she would have hidden it. I can't believe I didn't think of it."

Veronica paused for a moment before continuing. "So I disguised myself as a catering waitress," she said, gesturing at her outfit, "and snuck into the party the Kanes were throwing for the governor. Duncan caught me in Lilly's room, unscrewing the vent panel."

"She had this wig on, I didn't even recognize her."

"So the two of you found the letter in the vent, go on."

"No, we di—"

"What? But you said—"

"Let me finish. We didn't find the letter, but we found something else."

"What?"

"Tapes. Video tapes."

"Tapes of what?"

"Logan, the night I ran out on you after the surprise party, it wasn't because I needed to go do whatever."

"What was it? What's that got to do with—"

"I left because I found hidden cameras in the bedroom."

"What? Hidden cameras? Veronica, they weren't mine, I swear."

"I know that now. At the time, I don't know, I guess I just freaked out. I thought maybe you were just setting me up for a big joke all along."

"No, I, I wasn't, I swear."

"I know. The tapes we found, well, the first tape we looked at, it was from October 3rd, the day Lilly died. Lilly was in your poolhouse, and she found the cameras, almost the same way I did."

"I don't understand though. Why was she over at my house that day?"

"Logan…."

"What was she doing in my poolhouse, you know, without me?"

"It's just—are you sure you want to know?"

"What? What's so horrible?"

"She was meeting your father there."

"My father? Oh my God."

"They were having an affair. That was what was on the earlier two tapes, but Lilly found the cameras, and she took the tapes and hid them in her vent, but your father went after her. When she wouldn't tell him where the tapes were hidden, he killed her."

Logan was silent for several long moments before he spoke. "How could she? How could she have hated me that much? I mean, I knew she didn't love me, not the same way I loved her, but, but, I thought she at least liked me, or, or cared about me at least a little."

"Logan, we were both shocked too," Duncan said. "I, I mean, I was in the womb with her, so I thought I knew her as well as anyone could, but I can't, I don't know why she'd do a thing like that, I really don't."

"Wait, what happened next? Veronica, did my father do this to you?" he asked, gesturing at her injuries.

"Yes. I left the Kanes' to take the tapes to my father. Duncan was going to watch to make sure your dad didn't leave the party, but, well, I guess he had figured out about the vent too, and he must have overheard us, and he beat me to my car, and hid in the backseat. After I had been driving for a few minutes, Duncan called me to tell me he couldn't find him anywhere at the party. As soon as I hung up, he sprung up behind me. I crashed my car to get away from him."

"You crashed your car?"

"I rammed it into a telephone pole. We were both knocked out, but I had my seatbelt on, so I woke up first. I grabbed the tapes and ran to a nearby house. I hid the tapes and tried to get the guy who lived there to let me in, but your father woke up and got to him first, and knocked him out. Then he knocked me out again," at this, she pointed to the bruise forming below her eye, "and locked me in this old fridge the guy had out on his porch. When I woke up, he tried to get me to tell him where I'd hidden the tapes, and he started pouring gasoline on the fridge."

"I can't believe this. I knew he was a bastard, but—"

Veronica winced at that. "Please just let me finish."

"Of course, I didn't mean to—I'm sorry."

"Anyway, I guess Duncan must have left the party to come after me right after we hung up, so maybe he should tell the rest."

"There's not much to tell. I drove after her and when I found her car wrecked, I grabbed her stun-gun from where it had fallen below the dash, and I ran up to the house. I snuck up behind your dad and hit him with the stun-gun a couple of times and then tied him up. Then I got Veronica out of the fridge and we called the cops. Then we went looking for you."

"Thank God. I feel so useless. I should have been there with you, instead of…."

"It's not your fault," Veronica answered. "You couldn't have known."

"I'm just glad you're alright. Wait, but, are the two of you back together? I mean, he saved you and everything. I mean, maybe the two of you really do belong together, you know?"

"Trust me," Duncan answered, "we don't."

"But, why not? I know you still love her Duncan."

"It's—"

"Complicated," finished Duncan.

"I can handle it. I want to understand."

"I don't know, it's just—"

"What? What could possibly be more horrible than what you've already told me?"

To be continued….


	6. Chapter 6

"Do you think we should tell him?" asked Duncan.

"Yes."

"I was asking Veronica."

"I do think so. We've all been keeping too many secrets for too long. But…."

"But?"

"He already knows about what happened between us at Shelly's party."

"Oh."

"Wait, so what? I know you guys wanted to, like, wait for your wedding day or whatever, but you were—are—in love and stuff, so..."

"I think we should tell him," Veronica said to Duncan, "on the condition," she continued, raising her voice for emphasis and turning toward Logan, "that he tell you what he did at Shelly's party."

Logan swallowed before answering. "Alright, okay. You're right, there have been too many secrets."

"Alright," said Duncan, throwing up his hands. "Veronica is my sister."

Logan laughed. "Duncan, are you feeling okay? I know you've been through a lot, but…Lilly was your sister. Veronica was your girlfriend."

"Thank you, Logan, for your penetrating insight. Veronica is also my sister."

"Okay, I know we took biology back in ninth grade, but let me remind you how this works: your parents are Jake and Celeste Kane; they were also Lilly's parents, making Lilly your sister. Veronica's parents are Keith and Lianne Mars, who are not your parents, making her not your sister."

Duncan slapped his left hand against his forehead. Veronica just rolled her eyes. Backup scampered off their laps and over to the other end of the pier to relieve himself against one of the dock pylons.

"Logan—"

"No, no, Veronica, I'll explain it, lest he continue to think I'm the slow child or something. Okay, Logan, pay attention now. My father, Jake Kane, had an affair with Veronica's mother, Lianne Mars. That affair produced Veronica, making her my half-sister."

"Okay, you just made that up. He just made that up, right?" Veronica just shook her head. "Wait," Logan continued, "you're telling me that Veronica is your Dad's daughter?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And that's why you broke up with her?"

"Yes."

"Wait, but you broke up with her before Shelly's party. You knew before Shelly's party! Dude, you had sex with your sister!" Duncan just put his face in his hands and groaned.

"Ahem." Veronica cleared her throat pointedly.

"Oh, right, I guess I probably shouldn't have given you that drink laced with GHB that night, huh?"

"You what? You jackass!" Duncan reached back around behind Veronica and grabbed the waist of Logan's boxers, tugging upwards as hard as he could.

"Ow," gasped Logan very quietly.

"Oh, a wedgie, that's a mature response."

"Fine," answered Duncan, now standing directly behind Logan, practically holding him in the air by the waist of his shorts. "I'll let him go." With a grin, Duncan pitched Logan forward into the water.

"Ow," responded Logan as he splashed around. "I'm still bleeding here you know. Do you have any idea how much seawater stings?"

"Ah, it's good for you. The saltwater will disinfect the wounds."

"Yes, I'm sure the water here in the marina is very sanitary. You want to help me out here?"

"Mmm, no."

"Duncan."

"Oh, alright." Bracing himself with one hand on the nearest pylon, Duncan extended his other hand to help Logan out of the brine. Logan pulled downward with all his weight on Duncan's proffered arm, but Duncan managed to not fall in, instead pulling Logan out back onto the dock. "Nice try."

"Yeah, yeah." Logan shook out his wet hair at Duncan. "I hope you know that I intend to drip as much as possible on the inside of your car."

"What else is new?"

"I meant drip seawater. And don't take his side just because he's your brother."

"Just making an observation. Seriously though, maybe we should get back."

As they headed for the parking lot, Logan watched Veronica thoughtfully.

"What?"

"I was just thinking, so Jake Kane is really your dad?"

"Biologically, yes."

"So that explains why you're so tall."

"Duncan, could you throw him back in the water?"

"Hey, if anyone here is so small she ought to be thrown back—okay, okay, kidding, sorry. Anyway," he continued as they piled into Duncan's Mercedes, "what's our game-plan now?"

"Our game-plan? First, we're going to drive you home and put you to bed, then I'm going to drive Veronica home, and then I'm going home to bed. Tomorrow we can come back for your car."

"What I mean is, if I'm going home, has Trina heard yet?"

"Ooh, yeah, probably. I mean, Duncan and I found your flask and your cell-phone on the Coronado Bridge—do you want them back? I guess you must have dropped them when—"

"I didn't drop them. I threw them away deliberately. I'll take the phone back though."

Veronica smiled at that and handed the phone back. "Anyway, some reporter called on your cell-phone, and then another called Duncan's. There probably were more calls, but we turned off all our phones, but yeah, it's a good bet Trina's heard."

"Terrific. Well, she always has subscribed to the 'no such thing as bad publicity' school of public relations. Would you two go in with me? I really don't want to face her alone."

"Yeah, of course."

"Absolutely."

* * *

As they approached the Echolls' front gate, they could see that, even though it was still the middle of the night, a crowd of reporters and gawkers had already assembled out front. Duncan had to honk a few times before the crowd parted enough for the Mercedes to edge its way to the gate. Flashbulbs went off all around them, and microphones and microcassette recorders were all shoved against the windows as journalists clamored for some kind of statement. They were only a few feet inside the gate when they saw Trina running out to meet them. 

As they piled out of the SUV, Trina keened "Oh my God, Logan, is it true?" When she saw Logan's face she added "Logan, what happened to you? Did Dad—"

"No, these particularly injuries I can't blame on our father. Now, Veronica's injuries I can. And yes, in answer to your first question, we can also blame Lilly's injury on good old Pop."

"Oh no. Wait, Logan, what did happen to you then? Who did this—you look like you got hit by a car or something."

"Close. I actually got hit by a bike…er…gang."

"Wait, Veronica, did my father really…."

"Yes, Trina, he did."

"Oh no." Trina shook her head silently for a moment before she spoke again. "Logan," she began softly, "I'm sorry. I should have believed you when you used to tell me about what he did to you."

In the illumination from the camera flashes come from beyond the gate, they all watched as Logan did a double-take. "What? What did you just say? You're not defending him? All of a sudden you believe me now?"

"I never wanted to see that side of him before, but after what happened with Dylan—"

"Wait, the one time he pounds on someone who actually deserves it and—"

"That's not the point. You only got there at the end. You didn't see what he was like. He was just totally out of control."

"I've seen what he's like, plenty of times."

"I know. I'm sorry, I should have listened. Maybe if I had believed you years ago…."

"You know what, Trina? That's in the past. Let's just not fight anymore, okay? Or at least let's not fight anymore tonight. I'm too tired."

Just then, a reporter yelled out, "Logan, do you think your father's guilty?"

"Miss Mars, Veronica! What was your relationship—"

"Mr. Kane, are you and Logan still—"

"Trina, how will this impact your—"

"You know what Logan?" asked Veronica as she walked up to him and put one hand on his elbow, gesturing to the crowd outside the gate with the other. "I think our secret is out."

"Let's not disappoint our adoring public then." Logan pulled her into a kiss. It was after about forty-five seconds that from somewhere within the crowd a ragged cheer went up for the two bruised and bleeding lovers.

"Ahem."

"Sorry Trina, Duncan. Veronica, I really should get to bed, but I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Tomorrow. Have a good night. Good night Trina."

The four of them said their good nights and Duncan and Veronica got back into the car and headed back out the gate.

To be continued….


	7. Chapter 7

"Isn't it better, like this?"

"So much better."

"This is how it's supposed to be."

"Totally."

"And this is how it's going to be, from now on. Right? Lilly?"

"You know how things are going to be now, don't you? You have to know."

"Just like this. Just like this."

"Don't forget your big sister, Veronica."

"I could never."

Veronica started awake just as Duncan was turning the engine off. "Huh?" she asked as she lifted his head off her brother's shoulder.

"We're here, Veronica."

Glancing at the clock at the dashboard, Veronica realized that it was just after three in the morning now that they had finally arrived back at her apartment. "Sorry, did I drool on your shoulder?" Veronica yawned.

"Nah, well, only just a little. It'll come out in the wash. And anyway, it's not like I don't have plenty of blue shirts. Veronica? Have you gone back to sleep already?" Duncan unbuckled Veronica's seatbelt, got out of the SUV, circled around to Veronica's side, opened the passenger door, and gently lifted his sister out of the vehicle. Kicking the door shut behind them once Backup had scrambled out, he started toward the Mars' apartment with the dog following.

"I don't suppose you could get the door, huh, boy? My hands are kind of full," he explained, hoisting the sleeping form of his sister slightly higher in his arms for emphasis. "No, huh? Well, it looks like there's still a light on inside, so maybe…." With that, Duncan tapped at the door with one foot.

"Veronica!" cried Lianne Mars as she flung the door open. "Duncan."

Duncan stood there gob-smacked for several seconds. "Mrs. Mars, h-how are you?"

"Is she all right?" Veronica's mother asked, extending her hands forward as if to touch her daughter's face, only to pull back.

"Um, yeah, no, she's fine, she's just, you know, exhausted. Uh, Veronica," he went on, gently shaking her slumbering form.

"Huh?" she answered, rousing a little.

"Did you, uh, know that your mom is home?"

"Did I not mention that?"

"Uh, no."

"Duncan," cut in Keith from inside the apartment, "don't just stand there, why don't you bring her inside?"

"What? Of course, right."

"I think you can put me down now," said Veronica once they were inside.

"Oh, sure," he answered, lowering her feet to the floor and helping her upright. "So, uh, Mrs. Mars, when did you—"

"Veronica!" interjected Lianne, racing to hug her now fully wakeful daughter, "your dad," at that, Veronica, who had not returned her mother's embrace, stiffened so slightly that only Lianne noticed, "told me what happened. Oh, thank God you're all right. You are all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered, pushing her mother away from her.

"Duncan," Keith interrupted again, "would you like to sit down? Can I get you anything?"

"Oh, thank you, that's really nice of you Mr. Mars, but, you know, it's been a really long night, and you probably want to talk to Veronica, and, you know, I should probably go talk to my mom, let her know I'm okay, so…."

"Duncan," Keith answered as Duncan backed toward the door, "Thank you again."

Once Duncan had left, Veronica wheeled on her mother and said "so, how'd rehab go?"

"Veronica, I know you're upset, but I had to come back early—"

"You had to? Why? So that every penny I had saved for college would be completely wasted?"

In tears, her mother answered "I saw the ads your father placed in the paper. I knew I had to get back before, before…."

"Veronica," Keith interjected, "your mom and I have been talking, and she's going to start attending AA meetings here in town—"

"I will, I swear! I've already got a sponsor and everything, and, and, I'm going to get clean, I promise!" Veronica's expression began to soften. "I know you're disappointed in me sweetie, and I'm so sorry, it's just, I was afraid I was going to lose you, and I just, I just…but I'm going to do better, and I'm going to pay you back, I promise."

"Dad, could I talk to Mom alone for a minute?"

"Sure honey. I'll just take Backup out again; it looks like he's getting a little agitated."

"What is it honey?" asked Lianne after Keith had left.

"How could you Mom? How could you cheat on him?"

"It's over, I swear. I'm going to do better now sweetie, I promise."

"That's not what I asked you!"

"It's complicated."

"Use small words then."

Lianne sat down on the couch. Her daughter stood before her with her arms folded across her chest as she began her tale. "After, after Jake and I broke up, I was heartbroken, I, I thought it was the end of the world. After a while though, I thought I was finally over it, it didn't hurt anymore. I was seeing your—I was seeing Keith by that point."

"My father. He's still my dad."

"Your father. And then I heard that Jake was getting married, and I just, I just broke down crying, and it all just came back again. About a month later, your dad asked me to marry him, and I guess I just figured, I don't know, that if I got married, that would have to mean I'd finally moved on, right?"

"How'd that work out?"

"It did work at first. We really were happy for a while."

"And then?"

"I ran into Jake, at the grocery store of all places. And we just got to talking, and it was as if nothing had ever changed, and, and all of a sudden we were making out in his car like we were still in high school."

"Thanks, there's an image I wanted stuck in my head."

"You said you wanted to know what happened."

"You're right, keep going."

"There's not much more to tell. He asked me if we should get a room and well, I guess I said yes, and—"

"You guess?"

"I said yes, okay? So we drove over to the Camelot, and well, after that it just became a regular thing."

"And what? You were just okay with that? You didn't feel the least bit guilty?"

"Of course I felt guilty! I hated myself! Why do you think I started drinking? Do you think this is how imagined my life going when I was your age? That I'd be explaining to my daughter why her mom is a worthless cheating drunk who—"

"Stop it!" cried Veronica as she dove into her mother's lap, throwing her arms around her. "Don't say that!"

"Oh honey, I'm just so sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Dad."

"I will, I will." After a pause she asked "do you hate me?"

"No, Mom, I love you. Just promise me things are going to be different from now on."

"I promise, sweetie, I promise," she answered, holding Veronica against herself, stroking the back of her daughter's head. "I won't ever let you down again. When your dad told me what happened tonight, I just, I was so frightened. I couldn't bear to lose you."

* * *

"Thanks for giving me a lift to the marina, man," said Logan as he got into the Mercedes. "I could have just sent our driver to pick it up or something." 

"No problem," answered Duncan. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Well, I think my condition has been upgraded from 'crappy' to 'lousy.'"

"Under the circumstances, lousy sounds pretty good."

"Stupid circumstances. Say, did you talk to Veronica today?"

"Yeah, I spoke to her this earlier this afternoon. She said she was sorry she wasn't going to make it today, but that she wanted to stay home with her parents. Her mom's home you know."

"I know. She said she and her parents, I mean, you know what I mean, were going to try to work things out."

"Wait, you knew her mom was home? When did you find out?"

"I talked to her on the phone this morning."

"Wait, then why'd you ask me if I'd spoken to her?"

"Because, I wanted to know if you'd spoken to her."

"Stupid question, I guess," replied Duncan. "So, what did the two of you talk about?"

"Nothing much, really. I just wanted to talk to her. She's really your sister, huh?"

"Yes, Logan, she's really my sister."

"That's got to be weird."

"You are just a font of profundity."

"Did Lilly know?"

"Yeah, she was so pissed at me after I broke up with Veronica, I had to tell her."

"How'd she react?"

"What do you think? She was really weirded out by it."

"Still though, it's like, the two of you, you and Veronica I mean, you _avenged_ your sister. That's really something, you know."

"Yeah, I guess it is."

They were silent for a few minutes before Logan spoke again, "so, is there going to be, like, a paternity suit now or something?"

"Oh, I'm sure my parents will just settle out of court, if only to avoid the publicity."

To be continued….


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Yes, I know, the bastinado is actually the second degree.

* * *

"Veronica, there is a large yellow vehicle here to take you to school. Perhaps you'd like to invite the driver in for breakfast?" 

"Sorry Dad, but I don't want to be late for class."

"You don't? Are you feeling all right?"

"I also don't want you subjecting him to the third degree."

"I promise to limit myself to the first degree."

"Yeah, but you make the thumbscrews feel as bad as the bastinado."

"Veronica, seriously, if the two of you are going to be dating, I want to talk to him. And he's here early, so you have plenty of time before school."

"Okay, okay."

* * *

"Logan, it's been an awfully long time. I was very sorry to hear about your mother." 

"Thank you. It's very nice to see you again Mrs. Mars. Welcome back."

"Have you had breakfast yet? I've made waffles."

"Sure." Logan hesitated. "That sounds great."

"So, Logan," began Keith, "I know this must be a difficult time for you." The two of them were sitting at the breakfast table. Keith's briefcase sat beside his chair. The Marses had finished before Logan had arrived, and Veronica was in the kitchen putting their plates in the sink while Lianne prepared breakfast for Logan. Sitting on the table in front of Keith was some object wrapped in a white rag.

"You've always had a gift for understatement, Mr. Mars."

"I've been blessed. Veronica," Keith called out, "why don't you take Backup out for a walk?"

"Okay, but Dad," replied Veronica before tapping at her right thumbnail with her left forefinger and then shaking her head.

After Veronica had left, Keith turned back to Logan and pulled away the rag in front of him to reveal the black metal components of his disassembled Beretta, the pieces of which Keith began wiping off with the rag. "You have to keep them clean and well-oiled," he explained, "if you want them to fire properly. So, Logan, just how long have you and Veronica been seeing each other?"

"Uh, well," began Logan as he eyed what Keith was doing, "I guess it started right around when Duncan left, so it's only been a couple of weeks. Depending on how you count, it didn't even start until a couple of days after…." Logan trailed off as he saw the expression on Keith's face.

"Let's not worry too much about a day or two one way or another" answered Keith as he began brushing out the inside of the barrel. "I generally like to talk with any boy that Veronica dates early on in the relationship."

At that point, Lianne brought in a waffle for Logan, along with a pitcher of maple syrup. "There's some butter too, if you like."

Without looking away from Keith, Logan answered "thank you, but I'm fine."

"Lianne, would you excuse us? I'd like to talk to Logan man-to-man."

"Try not to scare him too much," Lianne answered on her way out.

"So Logan," Keith went on after his wife had left, "I know it probably appears that I allow Veronica a great deal more freedom than I did when the two of you were friends."

"I had noticed that she doesn't seem to worry about her curfew as much anymore."

"That's true. And in most respects," he continued as he oiled the slide, "she has a lot more freedom than most girls her age, wouldn't you say?"

"I suppose that's true."

"And I realize that this is a touchy subject for you, especially given everything we've learned over the last few days, but I get the impression, though," at this point, Keith put the piece he was working on down and looked directly at Logan, "that most of the girls you've dated have also not been subjected to particularly intense parental supervision."

Logan swallowed hard but did not look away from Keith, "You do have a gift for understatement."

"I practice," answered Keith as he began reassembling the pistol. "And I hope it won't be indelicate of me to say that I also get the impression that it's been some time since you've dated a girl who was still a virgin."

"That is true."

"You did know that Veronica is still a virgin?"

"She didn't say so herself," Logan answered after a momentary pause, "but I did know that she hadn't slept with Duncan before they broke up, and I knew that she hadn't been involved very seriously with anyone since then."

"Well, you see Logan, given all the health risks involved in sexual activity in this day and age," Keith explained as he slid a clip into the now reassembled handgun, "I think it would be best for the safety of all concerned if she were to remain a virgin for the foreseeable future, don't you?"

"Absolutely," answered Logan as he nodded his head.

Just then, they heard Backup scratching at the front door. Keith slid the nine-millimeter into his briefcase as Veronica entered with the dog. "So," Veronica began brightly as she removed Backup's leash, "are you ready to go to school?"

"Yes please," replied Logan in a thin but steady voice.

* * *

"My dad can be a little intense, huh?" 

Logan thought for a moment before saying "it must be learned behavior."

"What?"

"You share his gift for understatement, that's all."

"Okay….You all right though? You look kind of pale."

"I'm fine. It's just, you know, I really wanted to make a good impression on him."

Veronica smiled slightly at that before asking "do you think you succeeded? What did you guys talk about?"

"He mostly talked. I gathered from what he said, though, that you never told him about what happened at Shelly's party."

Veronica bolted upright in the passenger seat. "You didn't tell him, did you?"

"Are you kidding? You think I want to get shot?" After Veronica had relaxed again, Logan asked "are you ever going to tell him?"

"I hadn't planned on it. I just can't tell him. I don't know what he'd do, but…."

"I understand that. Well, your secret's safe with me," Logan answered, touching his index finger to the side of his nose.

The two of them rode in silence for a few minutes before Logan said "so, on a lighter note, have you decided what kind of car you're going to get now that you've totaled that rust-bucket of yours?"

"I don't know that I can afford a new car."

"Why not?"

"Well, since I wrecked the LeBaron myself on purpose, I'm not sure the insurance will cover it."

"Yeah, but don't you have plenty of money now?"

"The fifty grand? I owe ten percent of the reward to Mac," seeing Logan's absence of any recognition, she continued "someone who gave me a lead on where Duncan was, and the rest I'm saving for college."

"Yeah, but what about all the rest of the money you'll be getting from the Kanes, now that you know about, you know?"

"What, Duncan didn't tell you? There's not going to be any paternity suit."

"No, he did tell me. He said his parents would settle out of court to avoid the publicity."

Veronica's mouth dropped open. "They didn't tell him? Of course they didn't tell him."

To be continued….


	9. Chapter 9

"Hello Veronica. Thank you for agreeing to see me."

"Mr. Kane, I'm only here because Duncan asked me."

Jake Kane was sitting on a deck chair by the side of his pool, but, to judge from the way he was hunched over, and the haggard expression on his visage, he was hardly relaxed.

"Would you like to sit?" said Jake, gesturing to the other deck chairs and chaise lounges arranged haphazardly around the pool.

"I prefer to stand, thank you. So, I understand they've released you on your own recognizance. Funny, usually multibillionaires who own multiple homes abroad, not to mention their own private airplanes, are considered potential flight-risks."

"Veronica, I have no intention of running away. Anyway, my lawyers have already worked out a plea agreement with the district attorney."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I'll plead guilty to conspiracy and to four counts of falsifying evidence."

"What about suborning perjury?"

"Well, they decided, given his health, not to prosecute Abel Koontz for perjury, and if they don't charge him—"

"For having committed perjury, it's kind of hard to charge you for suborning it. So, conspiracy, huh? You could do a whole year in prison for that, plus a ten thousand dollar fine. Not to mention the four misdemeanor counts. Oh yeah, that's justice."

Jake looked down at the ground, folding his hands in his lap. "Actually, they agreed to a suspended sentence."

Veronica turned her face away from her father and stared out at a point across the pool. "Well, I'm sure the good citizens of Balboa County will be reassured to know that they're represented by the best district attorney money can buy."

Jake was silent for several moments before beginning again. "I spoke to…your brother, and I told him that I didn't mean, well, I'm not going to try to hurt Logan or Trina."

"So, you're not going to persecute two innocent people? That's big of you."

"What do you want me to say, Veronica?"

"I don't want you to say anything. There's nothing I want from you."

"There's a lot I want to say."

"So say it."

Jake did not speak for another moment. Finally, he said "Duncan was very upset when Logan told him about the agreement you signed."

"Is that what you wanted to tell me? Relax, I'll tell him that I was happy to sign it. Like I said, there's nothing I want from you."

"Wait, Veronica, look, you have every right to be angry at me—"

"You're right about that."

"There's no need for you to explain anything to Duncan. He calmed down once I explained that the agreement you signed was irrelevant."

"I'll bet your wife was ecstatic to hear you say that."

"No, now she's upset with me."

"And you've been such a good husband to her."

"Aren't you curious why the agreement is irrelevant?"

"No, I had just assumed you were lying to your son again."

"It's irrelevant because I established a trust fund for you almost sixteen years ago; it's worth more than three hundred million dollars by now."

Veronica's jaw dropped open. She took several steps backward until she bumped into a chaise lounge, whereupon she sat down on its edge. "Why?"

"That was when I found out for sure."

"You've known this whole time?"

"Well, I knew it was possible from the beginning, but I wanted to be sure. So when I came to pick Lilly up from your second birthday party, I asked to use the bathroom and took a lock of hair out of your hairbrush."

"Why did you care so much?"

"I just had to know." Her father paused again. "You know, when I got the results, I thought about suing for custody, or at least joint custody. I even went so far as to discuss it with my lawyers."

"Be glad you didn't, because if you think I'm angry at you now…."

"That's why I didn't. I thought it would be better for you never to know. I thought you'd be happier, thinking Keith was your father."

"He _is_ my father, but otherwise you were right."

Jake bit his lip at her vehemence. "I understand why you feel that way, but can't you understand how painful it's been for me, watching you calling another man 'dad'?"

"Of course I understand. I just don't care."

"Don't you see? I made that sacrifice for you, so that you'd be happy. All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy, you and your brother and sister."

"How's that working out for you?"

"Are you going to just keep sniping at me?"

"That was my plan. Why, do you feel you don't deserve it?"

"Look, I'm sorry, alright? I'm sorry I didn't trust Duncan more, I'm sorry I didn't tell him the truth before you two fell in love, I'm sorry I covered up what happened, I'm sorry I cost Keith his job, I'm sorry I let Celeste and Clarence run your mother out of town, and, and I'm sorry I wasn't a better father for Lilly. Maybe if, I don't know, maybe if I'd just paid more attention….I'm sorry." Jake was near tears at this point. His daughter eyed him coldly.

"Is that all you're sorry for?"

"You mean, am I sorry for committing adultery?"

"Aren't you?"

For the first time that afternoon, Jake looked her directly in the eye and spoke evenly. "I know it was wrong, but no, I'll never be sorry for that."

Veronica sat there in silence for a moment before she finally rose from the lounge and asked "was that all you wanted to tell me?"

"I guess so. Unless they haven't told you yet what's going to happen with Aaron."

"I heard. Plea agreements all around, it looks like. He's getting what, six years for voluntary manslaughter?"

"And life with the possibility of parole for kidnapping, to be served concurrently….Isn't that strange? He killed Lilly, but if it hadn't been for what he did to you, he'd be out in just six years."

"You don't like the law? You're the one with pull in Sacramento."

"I'm just glad that Lilly had a sister who loved her as much as you did."

"Thank you," answered Veronica after a moment. "I guess I should probably be going."

As Veronica turned to leave, her father called out to her "Veronica…."

She turned back. "Mr. Kane, I, I don't hate you."

"Thank you."

The end.


End file.
